Epson has a new photo printer out, and this time its a portable model called the PictureMate Show. This new model features a huge 7-inch color display and 270MB of internal memory. Printing is both speedy and of high quality on the portable PictureMate Show.

The Epson PictureMate Show is just the latest addition to Epson's PictureMate portable printing models. Designed to work independently from a computer, it features a 7-inch WVGA screen has a 480 x 800 pixel resolution and a 15:9 aspect radio. It does allow you to insert a memory card or thumbdrive with pictures on it and print directly from either. This model supports CompactFlash, Memory Stick, xD, and SD memory cards. You can also connect a PictBridge-supported camera to the USB port. There's an optional Bluetooth adapter that is sold separately for $40 from Epson. The back paper feed tray holds up to 20-sheets and the printed photos come out the front. The maximum paper size this model can handle is 4 x 6-inches.

The large color display lets you edit photos directly from the PictureMate Show and you can add effects, like animations, borders, and more. You can also do more advanced editing, like cropping and zooming. Doing this can be cumbersome, however, which requires tedious zooming and panning. Even with the large 7 inch screen, it can be difficult. There is a remote for this printer, which allows you to perform simple functions from a maximum distance of around 20 feet.

For more customization and flexibility when printing and editing, you can install the PictureMate Show on any PC or Mac and use the bundled Easy Photo Print software from Epson (or any other photo-editing software you prefer).

The ink cartridge for the Epson PictureMate Show is rather odd, but it makes things easy. It's one flat bar with all of the colors inside of it. This means that if one color goes dry, you'll have to replace the whole cartridge, but it's rare to find individual ink tanks on portable printers. In the retail package, Epson includes a starter cartridge that's good for 20-prints and they give you 20 sheets of 4 x 6 photo paper too. For future replacements, the retail 150-print cartridge and accompanying paper runs around $40, which is pretty economical.

Print quality from the Epson PictureMate Show is rather good, both color and grayscale prints. Color photos of landscapes were vivid, bright, and looked natural. Darker photos printed with good contrast and detail despite the dark shooting conditions. Printing speeds were well-above average with this model, almost unbelievably fast. Color prints took around 45-60 seconds, which is much quicker than other models without sacrificing any quality.